


Marriage (Set Adrift On Memory Bliss Remix)

by i_amthecosmos, magdalyna



Series: The Small Town Series [10]
Category: Bandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: 90's verse, M/M, gerard is a fuckup, lots of talking, love is love is love is love, marriage talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 08:04:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8836816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magdalyna/pseuds/magdalyna
Summary: Liam and Louis want to get married, maybe. But it's not that easy. Or maybe it is.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of the small town-verse. This is for the person who asked for Louis and Liam to get married. I don't think this is quite what they had in mind, but here goes. This chapter is set in 1991.

It was an early Sunday evening and Liam and Louis were at Bob’s bar. It wasn’t very busy and the Sunday dinner they fixed was hot. Liam was there with Louis, enjoying his day off. Louis had gotten a plate with Bob’s baked spaghetti on it, even though they had already eaten at his mom’s. Liam was just having a beer. 

Bob came over to where they were seated, wiping down the tables with a damp rag. “Hey, did you hear? Some gay couples in Hawaii are suing to be allowed to marry. Said not being able to was a violation of their rights.” 

They were quiet for a minute. Liam spoke first. “Huh,” he said. “You don’t say.” He couldn’t make out what he thought of it, he had so many emotions about the idea that they canceled each other out. “That’s interesting.” 

“Why?” Louis said. “Why are they doing that now? We still have a huge problem with HIV, housing, adoption, but these fags want to get married? Can’t that wait, what makes them think they’re special?”

 

“Might as well start now, I suppose,” Liam said. “I bet this will take a long time. And anyway, marriage will probably help the adoption issue.”

“Yeah, they’ll probably have to go to the state supreme court,” Bob said as he went to pick up some stray beer bottles off of tables. “I wish them luck though.” Liam nodded and took another drink. Louis was unusually quiet. 

After a couple of hours, they headed back home, Louis staring out the window. “What’s wrong?” Liam said. Louis didn’t answer at first, and Liam decided to wait him out. Prodding Louis never got anywhere. 

“I’m not mad,” Louis said as they pulled up to their apartment complex. “I’ve just been thinking about that..thing.” Liam cut the engine and they got out. “I’ve been out of the closet since I was thirteen, and I still think announcing your relationship to the world like that is a big risk.”

“Think of it this way,” Liam said as he opened the door to their apartment. “They’re secure enough that they can. I’ve heard Hawaii is great for gay people. Maybe that’s why they’re thinking ahead, trying to make plans for the future.”

“But it’s so hard to do that,” Louis said, crossing the room and flopping in his favorite chair. “I can’t go a day without being stared at. People talk about us. I’ve been arrested three times in protest with ACT-UP in the past two years. I’m the reason you can’t go to these things-you have to bail me out.”

Liam got both of them beers. “I know. I get all that too, not as much as you sometimes.” He thought about Niall for a minute, who had no previous experience with boys before he met Zayn. Niall still got baffled and hurt every time he heard gossip about his relationship. Liam never knew what to tell him, he was sure it wouldn’t get better.

“Yeah, you get it more ‘cause people know you now, they know you’re with me.” Louis took the bottle and popped off the cap. “I wish we could get married, but nobody would ever shut up about it.” 

“Your mother would be happy,” Liam said as he sat beside Louis, on the edge of their love seat. “my mum probably would too. Your sisters would find you a thrift store dress and decorate it.” Louis made a face as Liam laughed.

 

“Oh god. Yes they would. They would think that would be so funny.” Louis took another drink of his beer, then stared ahead for a minute. “We should put the news on and get ready for bed,” he said. “Put on Ted Koppel, I’ll make the bed.”

“Thank you.” They’d had one of their spats about Liam doing more than his share of the housework, and now Louis was trying to do better, so he took over the laundry. He turned on the TV and drank his beer as Louis puttered in their room. When he was done, he threw the bottle away and went to brush his teeth. When he was ready to go to bed, he found Louis reading a book while sitting on the bed. “Come on, get in bed with me. You can read there too.”

“Okay.” Louis got up and let Liam get in, and then snuggled up with him. “I can finish that book later.” Liam kissed Louis’s temple, and Louis smiled softly. “Maybe I should do more with my spare time. There’s a local drama group that might need some help.” 

“Worried your life is getting too boring?” Louis scoffed and Liam wrestled him down, getting on top of a wriggling Louis so he could kiss him again. “You’d scare some of those kids. You’d scare their parents for sure.” 

“All the more reason to do it,” Louis said as Liam tried to tickle him. “Stop!” Liam rolled off Louis, leaving him flushed and giggling. “You used to be so nice, what happened to my Boy Scout?”

“You are a bad influence on me,” Liam said, and then he cupped Lou’s face, kissing him softer this time. “I love you. Don’t worry about who’s getting married or not getting married. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow’s another day.” 

“That it is,” Louis said as he turned off the lamp.

…

The next Saturday night, they were back at Bob’s Tavern, Louis pliant and drunk on the dance floor, Liam almost holding him up. They were grinding in the back, Liam’s lips to Louis’s neck, and Liam felt perfectly calm. He just moved them to the music and held Louis tight, as if nothing else existed in the world. 

“I have to piss,” Louis shouted in his ear, and Liam let him go. But Louis grabbed his arm and pulled him along, so they both went to the bathroom. It was small, with only one stall and a urinal. When Louis pulled Liam into the stall, Liam knew what he was up to.

“Thought you said you had to piss,” Liam said, and Louis shook his head, crashing his mouth against Liam’s. Liam let Louis push him against the stall door, wincing as the lock dug into his back. Louis was relentless though, kissing and biting at his mouth. “Easy babe, don’t have to rush.”

“Yes I do, you kept nibbling my _neck_ ,” Louis snapped, and then he started rubbing on Liam’s thigh. Liam tilted his head up, staring at the ceiling as his boyfriend started to grind against him, harder than on the dance floor. 

“We’re gonna get caught,” Liam said, and Louis made an annoyed sound and kept moving. Liam put a hand on the back of Louis’s head, holding him in place as he kissed him. The sound of the music seemed far away, muffled by the bathroom door. 

Just then the door opened and Liam froze. Louis didn’t, until there was a knock on the stall door. “Bob sent me to tell you two to get out of there and behave,” Harry amused voice rose over the music. “Come on, we can’t get in trouble for public sex. You know they send undercover cops in here sometimes.”

“Yeah, the same fucking ones every week,” Louis snapped. “I swear, we weren’t up to nothin’,” Louis said, but Harry just giggled and left. That left the two of them in the stall with hard-ons, and Liam unlatched it. “Wait, don’t go yet.”

“We have to go...” Liam started, but then Louis pulled something out of his jeans pocket. “What?” 

“I bought us something from that store I went to in Midtown, when I bought these jeans.” Liam remembered that trip-he’d been astonished at how much Louis had spent on them. “This is for you, I think it’ll fit.” And then Louis was sliding a cheap ring over his finger. “Okay, put mine on.”

“Wait...” Liam’s brain struggled to keep up. He looked at the ring Louis had given him, and what finger it was on. “Lou, are you?-”

“Come on Leeyum,” Louis said. “Marry me quick, before Bob kicks us out of the bathroom.” 

“Okay, um,” Liam fumbled his fingers, a little tipsy, hoping he didn’t drop the ring. “By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husbands,” he slurred as he got the ring on. “Kiss me.” 

“I do,” Louis said, and cupped Liam’s face as they kissed. They kissed for long minutes, until the door opened again and this time they heard a much firmer knock on the stall door. “Okay Bob, we’re coming.”

“You better not be,” Bob said, and Louis moved Liam out of the way and opened the door.

“See, we have our pants on and everything,” Louis said. “And it doesn’t matter, we’re married now.” He showed Bob the cheap ring, and Bob nodded seriously. 

“Well, married or not, no blowjobs in my bathrooms. Does this mean you two won’t be coming by me and Harry’s for fun anymore?” Liam hadn’t thought about that, so he looked over at Louis, waiting to see what he said.

“I think so,” Louis said. “Gotta take it seriously, after all.” Liam tried not to laugh, since exchanging rings in a bathroom didn’t seem too serious to him. “I mean, it was fun but we probably shouldn’t do that forever.” 

“I understand,” Bob said, putting an arm around Louis. “We’ll miss you, but it’s no big deal.” Liam wondered if they’d been replaced anyway-Zayn and Niall had come over a couple of times, which he found mildly traumatizing. He couldn’t think about Niall like _that_. 

“Thank’s Bob,” Louis said, curling in for a full hug. “I think we should go home, if Liam’s ready to drive. What do you think darling, want to head home? We need to have our honeymoon.” Louis fluttered his eyelashes and Liam laughed. 

“You’re ridiculous,” Liam said. “I’m not drunk, I can take us home.” He moved over to Bob, who let go of Louis and pulled Liam in. “Thanks for everything, especially not kicking us out right now. I have to take this silly idiot home.” 

“Hey now,” Louis said. “See if you get any talking about me that way.” Liam just took Louis’s hand and led him out of the bathroom. They waved to Niall on the way out, and then they just went home.

“Maybe we can have a real wedding someday,” Louis said while Liam was two fingers deep into him. “i don’t care, as long as our friends and family come.” 

“They will,” Liam said. “But let’s not talk about this now, I’m trying to fuck you here.” 

“Suppose you’re right,” Louis said as he held his legs up higher. 

…

It was another week before Niall seemed to notice. They were having a friend’s catch up lunch together. “Hey, where did you get that?” He looked at the ring. “That’s cute.”

“Thanks. Louis gave it to me. He got us rings and had me marry him in the bathroom at Bob’s last week.” Niall cracked up, and Liam laughed himself. “Yeah, he’d been thinking about marriage a lot, so I guess he decided to go ahead.”

“I wonder if I can use that on Zayn. He always says he doesn’t want to get married, that we don’t need it. But I’d love to. I wish we could adopt.” 

“Yeah, not legal here,” Liam said. He would love a child or two himself, and as much as Louis liked to bitch about being stuck with babysitting his sisters growing up, he knew Louis felt the same way. “Sometimes I don’t know why we stay. We could go to California, it’s easier there.” 

“Yeah, but Louis and Zayn would never do it, and I ain’t leaving without Zayn,” Niall said, drinking his sweet tea. “I wished Louis’s cousin would sell beer here.”

“Says he can’t afford the license, and that the Baptist church would boycott him if he did,” Liam answered, dragging a french fry through his BBQ sauce. “it doesn’t matter, we can go to Bob’s later if you want one.” 

“No, I want to see Zayn when he gets in from his job,” Niall said. “Next weekend he’s going for a club weekend with his boss in Atlanta. I think they’re gonna get dressed in drag and go dancing. So I want to spend more time with him before he goes.”

“Does that bother you, them doing that?” Liam trusted Louis with his life, but he would still be wondering about a weekend like that, that didn’t include him. Also, he had only met Gerard once, and thought he was cute but a bit daffy and eccentric, and didn’t know how much Gerard respected Zayn’s relationship.

“I’m not worried,” Niall said. “Gerard’s a good guy, and while I think he likes both, he only seems to date women. They’re just going so he has a friend when he gets dressed up. He looks good too, he looks so much younger than he is, you know.”

“Sounds good then,” Liam said. He didn’t want to say anything else, it wasn’t his business. Niall trusted Zayn, so Liam will have to as well. 

…

That night, Liam called his dad. Geoff had been doing some reading about legislation regarding gay people, and had seen the story from Hawaii. “That’s lovely, isn’t it? I wish you two could get married.” 

“I know dad. For what it’s worth, Louis gave me a ring just recently.” Liam listened as he dad gave a surprised laugh and congratulated him. 

“Should we be coming over for a wedding, then?” Geoff said after a couple of minutes. 

“I don’t think so. But Louis finally called a lawyer in Atlanta that works with gay couples and families to help them be protected. We can get each other to be in charge of medical decisions, stuff like that. They might not still let us in the hospital room to visit, though.” 

Geoff got silent after that. Then he said “I’m so sorry. I know about these things, but it still seems so strange to me now. I wouldn’t have thought anything about it before I met Louis.” Liam made an agreeing noise, hoping his father didn’t get upset. He’d long ago forgiven Geoff for not accepting him in the past. 

“We’ve been putting off stuff like that for a long time,” Liam said. “Some of that was us not being sure if we’d be together that long, but it’s been years now. So we’ll pay for that, and-”

“How much is it going to cost?” Geoff asked. 

“I’m not really sure, but we talked to a guy who used this same lawyer and it cost him around two hundred dollars. He also retained him to help him adopt a friend’s baby, but that’s separate and going to cost a lot more. And we want to save up for a house, so we won’t worry about that right now.” 

“No, no, get the house first,” Geoff said. “Are you thinking of adopting? And...would you like us to help pay for the lawyer for this? We can give you half, maybe.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” Liam said, shocked. “You’re still recovering, you’re only working part-time. But thank you. That means a lot, that you’d think of us that way. And...we’d like to, but it might be a fight. If we could find a surrogate, that would be the best way. But that’s in the future.”

“We could spare a hundred dollars, just so you know. And not to push, but you and Louis are coming up on thirty, so maybe having children shouldn’t be too far in the future. Trust me, knees and backs get old fast, and kids always want piggy back rides.” 

“You just want grandchildren,” Liam said and Geoff laughed before begging off to give Karen the phone, and Liam wanted to pinch himself. He never thought he would have this conversation with his parents.

…

Over the next few days, they just did normal things-work and going to Bob’s bar. Louis put himself in charge of setting things up with the lawyer, and soon they had a date to come in the next week. Liam called off work, and was looking forward to it, even though it made him nervous as well.

Saturday, him and Louis were sitting around and watching TV when there was an angry knock on the door. “What the fuck?” Louis said, as he got up and slowly moved towards the door. “Huh-it’s Niall.” He opened the door and Niall strode in, fists clenched. “What happened?” 

“I’m gonna kill him, that’s what’s happening. Zayn went to Atlanta with Gerard, and the first night he got wasted on the dance floor and tried to kiss my boyfriend. I’m going to knock his head off.” 

“Holy shit,” Louis said. “Where’s Zayn?” Niall deflated then, looking guilty.

“He’s at his parents. He pushed Gee off, then went straight to his room, packed, and came back home. But when he told me, I got so angry. I don’t think I blamed him, but honestly I don’t know what all I said. He’s not answering the phone right now.” Niall slumped down in on the couch, head in his hands. 

Liam went over and sat next to Niall, putting an arm around him. Meanwhile, Louis grabbed his jacket and got his shoes on. “Tell Tricia hi for me,” Liam said as Louis went out the door. Niall reached over and squeezed Liam’s hand. “You idiot,” Liam said, and Niall hiccuped a sob. “Stay here for a while. We’ll see if Louis can get Zayn to come around. Just stay here. We can watch golf if you want.”

“You hate golf,” Niall said, and Liam pulled him in for a hug.

“You like it though.” 

…

Liam baby-sat Niall all day, watching sports with him and getting him beers when he started crying. He tried calling Zayn two more times, until Yaser got on the phone and politely told Niall to hold off for a while. Around dusk, Louis came back, Zayn with him. 

Niall stood up, unsteady from the beers. “Zayn, I’m so sorry-”

“I know,” Zayn said, sharp. Niall sat down, staring at the floor. “Let’s just go home. All hell is breaking loose-I’ve gotten calls from Gee’s girlfriend and brother begging me not to quit. Gee’s going into rehab right now. I know you didn’t mean what you said, but I had to get a break from it all the same.” Zayn walked up to Niall and held his hand out.

Niall let Zayn help him up, and they hugged, Zayn rubbing his back. “Thanks for looking out for him,” Zayn told Liam. “I’ll get him home. I have to decide if I’m coming back to my job Monday.”

“I’m sorry,” Niall mumbled, and Zayn shushed him as Louis opened the door and let them both out. Louis closed the door carefully and then came right over and sat in Liam’s lap.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, and Louis said “Remember that time, a few months after we started dating, and that guy grabbed my ass and you nearly decked him?” 

Liam chuckled. “Yeah. If that happened now, I’d just let you handle it yourself unless I was sure you needed backup.” Liam rubbed Louis’s back. “Thanks for going and seeing Zayn. You’re a great friend.”

“He pretty much had it already,” Louis said. “He just needed to vent. He’d already forgiven Niall, but he hates it when Niall acts jealous, like he knows what’s best for Zayn. You know that Zayn can take care of himself.”

“So,” Liam said, “If Gerard is going to rehab, who’s going to run the ad agency? His girlfriend?”

“Worse,” Louis said. “His brother Mikey. I’ve met that weirdo, he’s the sweetest guy but he can’t run anything, ever. Did you know he dated Ray for a while?” 

“Yeah, I remember that,” Liam said. “I thought they were good for each other.” As far as he knew, Ray had given no reason for the breakup. Privately he hoped they would try again, but he didn’t want to meddle. He really didn’t know Mikey well at all.

“I don’t think Mikey knows what to do with himself when he’s happy,” Louis said. “Well. You still want to commit yourself legally to me?” 

“Um, yes?” Liam stared at Louis like he lost his mind. “Why would I change my mind about that?” 

“You still think it’s a good idea, even though all our friends are either swingers or jealous or break up for no reason? You’d still marry me?” 

“We’ve been married, at least my mum thinks so. She always calls you her son-in-law now, you know that,” Liam said, hand cupping Louis’s face. “Ever since we’ve gotten together, it’s been hard, but I haven’t regretted a thing. You’re wonderful, and we’ve been happy, right? Do you wish you’d taken up with someone else?” Liam didn’t really think so, but the idea made his stomach go cold anyway.

“How could you even say that-no,” Louis said, and he moved so he could kiss Liam, hard and possessive. “You’re mine, you’ve been mine since you took me back to your hotel. You didn’t even fight it much. I don’t know if we’re always healthy, but we need each other, and we love each other, and goddammit I’m trying just as hard as I can.” Louis took a deep breath. “Well.”

“That should be your vows,” Liam said, deadpan, and they both started laughing. “We’ll have a ceremony someday,” Liam said, “But for now, let’s get power of attorney and living wills and wills and all that. If something happens, I want you to have my stuff.”

“Yeah, you actually have life insurance,” Louis said. “We need to save more. I don’t know how we’re going to get a house...”

“Shhh, we’re working on it,” Liam said. “I’m going to work some overtime when I can, just a couple of times a month. We can save that. And I know you give sneaky haircuts on the side, we can save that too.” 

“Oh yeah. That’s the money I used to buy those jeans.” Liam glared at Louis for a minute, and he just shrugged. “Never mind. I will save it in the future. Most of it anyway. Do you actually think anyone will sell us a house here, though?”

You cut the hair of the wives of the mayor and half of the city council, don’t you?” Louis nodded. “And God knows who else? I’m saying you can probably cash in a lot of your contacts when we’re ready to look. Some of those little old ladies love you.” 

“They’re alright,” Louis said. He always swore he wasn’t his real self when talking to customers, therefore if they liked him it didn’t count. But Liam knew that Louis couldn’t lie about himself, ever. So Liam couldn’t discount the affection he’d seen Louis’s clients direct towards him. “Let’s fix dinner.”

“You mean, let me fix dinner,” Liam grouched, but there was no heat to it. He got the ground beef out and started fixing burgers with corn on the cob as Louis went back to their room. By the time Liam was finished with dinner, Louis was back with newly-painted toes. “Very nice,” Liam said. They sat down in front of the TV with their plates, and watched the news. 

“Want to go out tonight?” Louis said, and Liam shook his head. “Okay. We can watch movies instead. Or whatever you want to do.” 

“Just stay in, even watching movies is too much,” Liam said. “I had a drunk sad Niall crying all over me for hours. And I watched so much _golf_.” 

“Ouch. Zayn just played old Bollywood records that belong to his dad. I can deal with that.” Louis got up, taking Liam’s plate as he went to put them in the dishwasher. They sat together, watching the news, until Liam fell asleep in his chair. 

…

When they went to Atlanta to see the lawyer, Liam was surprised to find that he was a little nervous. “I don’t know why, it’s not a big deal,” he said, and Louis just patted his hand. Liam managed to find the lawyer’s office with only a little getting lost, and they made it on time. 

The lawyer turned out to be a nice, good ole’ boy kind of guy, but with a picture of him and his husband on his desk. “So you want power of attorney, and you want to set up a living will and a will. Will you be starting any paperwork for adoption?” 

“No,” Liam said as Louis said “Not yet,” and then grinned at each other. The lawyer cleared his throat, and Liam realized they’d been staring for too long. They put their attention back on the lawyer, and they got most of the paperwork handled. 

“I’m glad we got that over with,” Louis said as they headed out. “We’ve got the rest of the day, want to go somewhere?” 

“We might as well,” Liam said. “I wish you could drive, though.” Atlanta traffic was still the worst, he wasn’t going to stop thinking that. 

 

“I’d panic if I did, I don’t like the roads here any better than you,” Louis said. “I think...we should go out to eat. Someplace nice. I know we’re saving for a house, but...” Louis trailed off, and then looked at Liam with a smile. “We kind of just got married.” 

“I’m with you legally now, that’s true,” Liam said. “We’ll go to a fairly nice place but not too expensive. We’ll drive around Midtown until we find something cool.” Louis nodded, and while they couldn’t hold hands on the street, Louis did squeeze his in the car. Liam smiled softly, and started the car, on their way to celebrate.


End file.
